2013 Capstones and Graduation

Please mark your calendar for the week of March 18-21, 2013 to join us at the Environmental Learning Center as we celebrate our eleventh cohort of graduate students' completion of their Masters in Environmental Education and Certificate in Leadership and Nonprofit Administration!

In partnership with Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University, North Cascades Institute offers a M.Ed. degree program that emphasizes teaching, curriculum development and residential program operations; natural and cultural history; and leadership and nonprofit administration. The Institute's campus is located on Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park, where students live and work during a four-quarter residency. They also complete three quarters of study at Western Washington University in Bellingham.

The week's events will commence with three days of capstone presentations by each member of the cohort.  Capstones are defined as a "crowning achievement" by the Merriam Webster Dictionary.  Students will present on a topic that has intrigued them throughout their graduate school experience, connecting their experiences within environmental education, natural history, sense of place and the future of education.  This years topics are:

Monday, 3/18

10:30a Writing in Nature: Collected Experiences in the Cascades by Kiira Heyman
1:00p Roots and Wings: Finding a Sense of Place in a Mobile Society by Sarah Bernstein
2:15 Old Growth Connections: Discovering My Personal Relationship with Nature by Susan Brown
3:30 How Animals Connect Us to Nature by Alex Paita
7:30 Becoming a Naturalist: Reading the Landscape Here and There by Christen Kiser

Tuesday, 3/19

1:30p How Best Practices in Teaching Young Children Take Learning Outside by Erin Soper
2:45 Fueling the Fire: Empowering Youth for Change by Mollie Behn
4 The Essential Ingredient: How Hope Sustains Us by Elise Ehrheart
7:30 Exploring the Narrative of Human Exceptionalism by Jacob Belsher

Wednesday, 3/20

10:30a An Opportunity in Our Midst: Environmental Education on Land Trust Preserves by Ashley Kvitek
1:30p Learning While Teaching: Tending to Scholarship in the Professional Realm by Colby Mitchell
2:45 Our Relationship with the Earth: Interpreting Residency by Katie Tozier
4 My Journey Through Nature to Culture by Emmanuel Camarillo
7:30 Diving into Passionate Work by Jessica Newley

Please contact our registrar at (360) 854-2599 or nci@ncascades.org if you would like to attend any of the capstone presentations.

The week of festivities culminates in the graduation ceremony of our eleventh cohort at the Environmental Learning Center on Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 2 pm. Hors D'oeuvres will be served from 5-6pm, with dinner immediately following. If you would like to attend the graduation ceremony at the Environmental Learning Center, please contact our registrar at (360) 854-2599 or nci@ncascades.org

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Stephanie Bennett, Graduate Program Coordinator at (206) 526-2567 or Stephanie_Bennett@ncascades.org.